NL Central

NL West

Now Commenting On:

Medlen meets golf legend Palmer on the green

Email

Print

By Mark Bowman
/
MLB.com |

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- When Kris Medlen joined Tim Hudson to play golf at Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club on Wednesday, he was excited and nervous about the likelihood of meeting the legendary golfer. But he certainly did not allow the nerves to prevent the experience from being even more memorable than he could have imagined.

As they prepared to hit their balls that had landed in the same greenside bunker, Hudson and Medlen saw Palmer approaching in a golf cart. They posed for pictures and Medlen had Palmer sign his hat. A few moments later, the signature became known as "The Magical Autograph."

"After he signed it, I was like, 'I hope this hat brings me luck,'" Medlen said. "So I hit my shot and I hit it about four inches from the hole out of the sand with about five feet to work with on the green. It was the best shot of my life. I tapped in and [Palmer] is applauding in the cart. I was like, 'You're the man, Arnie.' It was so cool."

As Medlen recreated the scene in front of his locker at Champion Stadium on Thursday afternoon, Hudson playfully objected to including the result of his shot out of the bunker.

"We both practically had the same [shot] and he just absolutely crushed it over the green," Medlen said. "That made it even better."

Mark Bowman is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.